Abstract Heritage stones are stones that have special significance in human culture. The papers in this volume discuss a wide variety of such stones, including stones from Europe, Asia, North and South America, Africa and Australia. Igneous (basalt, porphyry and a variety of granites), sedimentary (sandstone, limestone) and metamorphic (marble, quartzite, gneiss, slate, soapstone) stones are featured. These stones have been used over long periods of time for a wide range of uses, including monuments, buildings of architectural note, columns, roofing, tiling and lithography. A number of papers in this book provide information that is essential for eventual approval of stones as a Global Heritage Stone Resource or a group of stones as a Global Heritage Stone Province.

Abstract Victorian Bluestone is proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Province from Australia. Numerous heritage stones occur within this province and of these Malmsbury Bluestone is suggested as a Global Heritage Stone Resource. Bluestone, an iconic basalt dimension stone from Victoria, is used domestically and internationally with a recognized heritage value. Sources are located in urban and country areas of Victoria some of which are still utilized for dimension stone. In many instances bluestone has superior technical characteristics, including durability, that surpass high-quality commercial sandstones, despite an architectural preference for lighter-coloured stones. These characteristics are matched by the diversity of significant uses for domestic, commercial and infrastructure purposes especially in Victoria. Notable examples include the Spotswood Pumping Station, Malmsbury Viaduct, the Graving Dock (Williamstown), Malmsbury Reservoir, St Patrick's Cathedral (Melbourne), Kyneton Railway Station and Ararat Gaol. If the bluestone used in pavements and drains is also considered, Victorian Bluestone could be described as Australia's most prominent infrastructure heritage stone. Bluestone use in Melbourne dates from the 1840s, in the other states of Australia and in New Zealand from 1873, with international interest from Asia between 1860 and 1880. The stone continues to be utilized widely around Australia and is also exported.

Abstract Trentino Porphyry is an igneous rock composed of rhyolitic–rhyodacitic ignimbrites. It belongs to the Athesian Volcanic Group, a widespread calc-alkaline magmatic association of Lower Permian age (280–270 Ma) occurring in the Trentino-Alto Adige region, north Italy. Extraction and processing are currently carried out in Trento Province, particularly in the region of Cembra Valley and its surroundings. Initially introduced for road setts throughout Trentino and Südtirol, Trentino Porphyry has progressively become one of the most important materials for paving and facing in Europe and all over the world, where it is appreciated and renowned for its durability. It has successively acquired an unquestionable versatility of application, thanks to a rare mix of mineralogy and textural and structural features, combined with excellent technical properties. Given the role played by this stone in almost any aspect of the area – cultural, architectural, production and social – it is proposed for candidacy as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Abstract Cadalso de los Vidrios leucogranite is extracted from the Sierra de Guadarrama (Spanish Central System) under the trade name ‘Blanco Cristal’. It is a fine- to medium-grained, hypidiomorphic and equigranular building stone that has been used in many heritage buildings, such as the Villena Palace (1534). The current annual production of Cadalso de los Vidrios leucogranite is approximately 8000 m 3 , of which 40% is exported around the world. It has been used in places such as the Vieux-Port in Marseille (France), Cork International Airport (Ireland) and the Puri EXIM Bank of Jakarta (Indonesia) among others. It is currently being used in the construction of the iconic tower of Jesus Christ of the Sagrada Familia Basilica, in Barcelona (Spain). Cadalso de los Vidrios leucogranite Blanco Cristal has excellent petrophysical properties, a uniform colour and good resistance to thermal shock and freezing temperatures. These qualities make Blanco Cristal an ideal material for monuments and buildings.

Abstract Rapakivi granites were in use during the Middle Ages in Finland. Their most spectacular use, however, was for structures built in St Petersburg between 1760 and 1917. Remarkable examples are the majestic and slender Alexander Column and the 112 columns of St Isaac's Cathedral. All Rapakivi granite was extracted from the Wiborg Rapakivi granite batholith in several quarries around the municipality of Virolahti in SE Finland (old Russia). Today, the 1640 Ma-old Wiborg batholith is the most important area for natural stone production in Finland and in the Leningrad region, Russian Federation. The main quarried stone varieties of Rapakivi granite (Baltic Brown, Baltic Green, Carmen Red, Karelia Red, Eagle Red and Balmoral Red) are regularly produced in large quantities in Finland for the global stone market due to the stone's unique qualities. Examples of applications in Rapakivi granite from Finland can be found in the USA, China, South Africa, the UK, Italy, Austria, Ireland, Spain and Germany as well as in Scandinavia and Russia. There are also quarries near Vyborg, the Russian Federation: Vozrozhdenie and Ala-Noskua.

Abstract Indiana Limestone is one of the most used and versatile building stones in the USA. It is a uniform, carbonate grainstone formed during the Mississippian Subperiod of the Carbonifereous. The stone has excellent physical properties, good workability, fire resistance, durability, sustainability, reserves sufficient for hundreds of years, remarkable history, and is available in pleasing colours and textures. Indiana Limestone is used extensively for important buildings, homes, or carved as accents and sculptures, as well as other uses. At one time it was estimated that 60–80% of important US stone buildings were built with Indiana Limestone. This stone has been used for significant, even iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building and the Yankee Stadium, the Pentagon and many other government buildings, even religious structures such as the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, notable houses such as the Biltmore House in North Carolina, many Chicago landmarks, plus libraries, research centres, academic buildings and museums, across the USA. Sculptures throughout the USA and other countries are made of Indiana Limestone. The stone has good sustainability and is incorporated into the very culture of the state of Indiana and America. Indiana Limestone merits designation as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Abstract In Bavaria (Germany), between Solnhofen and Kelheim, numerous quarries allow utilization of a thinly plated Upper Jurassic limestone known in German as the Solnhofener Plattenkalk and in English as Solnhofen Limestone. Here limestone slabs have been quarried for centuries and it is not necessary to cut the limestone with a saw as it can be split conveniently into thin and even slabs or sheets which are used for floor tiles and wall cladding. Thick slabs of especially fine quality have been used for lithography. This later utilization began in the late eighteenth century with lithographic Solnhofen Limestone soon being marketed worldwide. The industry continues on a smaller scale today. Slabs are quarried by hand so as not to break them, accounting for their high price. Because of this ‘gentle’ quarrying method, fossils have also been found. Although rare, over time many Solnhofen fossil specimens have found their way into natural history museums throughout the world. Most noteworthy is the early bird Archaeopteryx . Given its utilitarian usage worldwide as a lithographic stone, and its sale for centuries as floor tiles, coupled with its being a source of unique fossils, Solnhofener Plattenkalk is recommended here as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Abstract Échaillon stone, a Mesozoic platform limestone from SE France, is proposed as a Global Heritage Stone Resource. The Échaillon stone quarries are located at the western termination of the Alps, near the city of Grenoble. Stone from the main Échaillon quarries is an Upper Jurassic to Berriasian bioclastic near-reef limestone, renowned for its two characteristic white and pink colours. Two ancillary quarries nearby, the Lignet and Rovon quarries, provided the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian to Aptian) Yellow Échaillon stone, of lagoonal origin. Échaillon stone's unique characteristics, resistance to weathering and high aesthetic values made it a prized building and ornamental material used in many significant historical buildings in Europe, North Africa and the USA. Although the first use of Échaillon stone in buildings dates from the Gallo-Roman period, the industrial use ranges from the mid-nineteenth century, during the heyday of the Beaux-Arts architecture period in France, to the mid-twentieth century. The reputation of Échaillon stone was bolstered by world-renowned architects, sculptors and artists who used it for historical building ornament and sculptures. By the turn of the twentieth century, production started to decline and it ceased by the middle of that century.

Abstract The appellation ‘Belgian black “marbles”’ usually designates dark fine-grained limestones present in the Paleozoic substrate of south Belgium. They have been extracted mostly in Frasnian (Upper Devonian) and Viséan (Lower Carboniferous) strata, in various different localities (Namur, Dinant, Theux, Basècles, Mazy-Golzinne among others). Nearly devoid of fossils and veins, they take a mirror-like polished finish, with a pure black colour. These limestones were already known during Antiquity but were only intensively exploited from the Middle Ages. Many different uses were made of these stones, for architecture, decoration or sculpture, in religious or civil contexts, following all the successive styles, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, baroque and so on. All these products, architectural, decorative and sculptural, were probably manufactured close to the quarries and were first exported to neighbouring countries (France and the Netherlands), then to all of Europe (Italy, Germany, Denmark, Poland, Baltic states, etc.) and, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, worldwide. They were always considered as high value-added objects, which allowed them to travel great distances from their origin. Thousands of references document the widespread use of these exceptional natural stones. They were employed, among other famous applications, as the black background of the Pietre dure marquetry of Florence. Some other lesser uses were either for musical instruments or lithographic stones. Today only one underground quarry exploits the black ‘marble’, at Golzinne (close to Namur). This prestigious material, with its dark aura, is suitable for recognition as a Global Heritage Stone Resource.

Abstract Drenov Grič black limestone is considered to be one of the most beautiful Slovenian natural stones due to its black colour interwoven with white veins. Over the centuries, it has been extracted from two major quarries located west of Ljubljana. One of these quarries has been declared a valuable natural feature of national importance and is protected as a natural monument. This well-stratified, Triassic (Carnian) micritic limestone occurs in 10–80 cm thick beds with thin marl interlayers. The limestone occasionally contains abundant fossil bivalves, gastropods and ostracods. It is relatively rich in carbonaceous and bituminous organic matter, which is responsible for the black colour of the stone. The stone has been widely used in Slovenian monuments. Many indoor and outdoor architectural elements have been constructed using this limestone, particularly during the Baroque period, which was known for its extensive use of black limestones in other European countries as well. The most significant use of this limestone has been recorded in sculpted portals and altars. Some important buildings, which were decorated utilizing this stone, have been declared cultural monuments of local or national importance. Use of this limestone was also documented in other European countries (Italy, Austria, Serbia) and worldwide (USA). When exposed to climatic influences, chromatic and salt weathering are recognized as the main deterioration phenomena for this limestone when used in monuments.